James Rowland Angell

James Rowland Angell (

Angell graduated from the University of Michigan with his bachelor's degree in 1890. He worked closely with John Dewey, earning a master's degree under his supervision in 1891. At Michigan he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Omicron chapter). He then went to Harvard University where he received a second master's degree in 1892 in psychology. He studied for a doctorate in philosophy in Berlin and Halle. His dissertation on the treatment of freedom in Kant was accepted, but required stylistic changes, which he never completed.^[1] Instead, he decided to take up a post at the University of Minnesota. He did, however, receive 23 honorary degrees during his lifetime.^[2]

Academic career

In 1895, Angell was offered a position at the

Yale presidency

In 1921, Angell was appointed

Angell's role at NBC was to "devise and suggest methods by which we may more capably serve radio's listening millions".[8] He often wrote about that topic and lectured about it. Angell was a driving force behind the development of the art-appreciation program Art for Your Sake, which debuted on NBC radio in October 1939. He was also chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Art Society, which devoted efforts to "'mass production plus mass distribution' of cultural products".^[8]

Death

Angell died on March 4, 1949, in New Haven, Connecticut.

Marriages

In 1894, James married Marion Isabel Watrous from Des Moines, Iowa, a fellow graduate of the

He was greatly influenced by the thought of John Dewey and is closely identified with functional psychology.

Angell laid out his three major points about functionalism during his presidential address for the American Psychological Association.

1. Functional psychology is interested in mental operations by way of mental activity and its relation to the larger biological forces. Angell believes that functional psychologists must consider the evolution of the mental operations in humans as one particular way to deal with the conditions of our environment. Mental operations by themselves are of little interest. Functional psychology is not conscious elements .
2. Mental processes aid in the cooperation between the needs of the organism and its environment. Mental functions help the organism survive by aiding in the behavioral habits of the organism and unfamiliar situations.
3. Mind and body cannot be separated because functionalism is the study of mental operations and their relationship with behavior. The total relationship of the organism and the environment and the minds function/place in this union is at question.^[12]

By stating these points, Angell drew the difference between functionalism as a study to discover how mental processed operate, what they accomplish that has kept them around, and the conditions in which they occur or the how and why of consciousness and its predecessor, structuralism, which focused on individual mental elements or the what of consciousness.^[12]

Criticisms

James Angell did have some criticism come his way for his views. The backlash from some about his implication of leaving out the

Published books and articles

• Psychology: An Introductory Study of the Structure and Function of Human Consciousness'
• Chapters from Modern Psychology
• "The Influence of Darwin on Psychology" (part of a larger collection, Darwinism: Critical Reviews from Dublin Review, Edinburgh Review, Quarterly Review)
• "The Evolution of Intelligence" (part of a larger collection, The Evolution of Man: A Series of Lectures Delivered before the Yale Chapter of the Sigma Xi during the Academic Year 1921-1922)

Notes

References

• Angell, J. R. (1936). James Rowland Angell. In Carl Murchison (Ed.), A History of Psychology in Autobiography (Vol. 3, pp. 1–38). Worcester, MA: Clark University Press. http://www.brocku.ca/MeadProject/Angell/Angell_1961.html
• Arnold, F. (1907) Untitled [Review of the article: The Province of Functional Psychology]. The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods, 4, 276-277.
• Dewsbury, D. (2003). James Rowland Angell, Born Administrator. In G. A. Kimble & M. Wertheimer (Eds.), Portraits of Pioneers in Psychology (vol. 5). APA & LE
• Hergenhahn, B. R. (2009). An Introduction to the History of Psychology. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
• Kelley, Brooks Mather. (1999). Yale: A History. New Haven:
  ISBN 978-0-300-07843-5; OCLC 810552
• Kneessi, D. F. (2002). Datelines: james rowland angell. Retrieved from http://faculty.frostburg.edu/mbradley/psyography/datelines_jamesangell.html Archived 2016-08-22 at the Wayback Machine
• Thilly, F. (1905) Untitled. [Review of the book: Psychology: An Introductory Study of the Structure and Function of Human Consciousness]. The Philosophical Review, 14, 481-487.
• Hunter, W. S. (1951). James Rowland Angell 1869—1949: A Biographical Memoir (PDF). Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to James Rowland Angell.

Wikisource has the text of a 1922 Encyclopædia Britannica article about "James Rowland Angell".

• The Province of Functional Psychology
• Psychology: An Introductory Study of the Structure and Function of Human Consciousness
• Autobiographical article
• James Rowland Angell at Find a Grave
• James Rowland Angell, president of Yale University, records (RU 24). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale Univ. Library. [1]
• James Rowland Angell personal papers (MS 2). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. [2]

Educational offices
Preceded by Mary Whiton Calkins	15th President of the American Psychological Association 1906–1907	Succeeded by Henry Rutgers Marshall
Academic offices
Preceded by Arthur Twining Hadley	President of Yale University 1921–1937	Succeeded by Charles Seymour